[These posts are in reponse to the following:]
From: "Florence Leung" <leungflorence_at_hotmail.com>
Would any of you recommend cancelling your
subscription of "Reader's Guide to Periodical
Literature?"--since we now have full text
periodical databases online.
========================
#1
From: barbara j via <bv848_at_csc.albany.edu>
Hello,
We just had a discussion at a recent bibliographers'
meeting regarding keeping print Reader's Guide to
Periodical Literature. We concluded that the
ability to browse through a year's coverage in
print, the serendipitous searching that is so much
easier in print, and the ability to really see the
subject and see reference structure, combine to make
keeping the print subscription active the best option
for us.
Barbara Via
University at Albany
Dewey Graduate Library
Albany, NY 12222
=======================
#2
From: "Pam Bloomquist" <bloomquistp_at_warner.edu>
Speaking for Florida Librarians, I personally
wouldn't do it because we use the print guides
as backups when lightening strikes and we lose power.
Sometimes we get our "lights" back before we get
the computers up again because of outages with our
IP or our phone company. We've had to use indexes
the "old -fashioned" way several times per year.
Our summers are very volatile. If you don't have
the storm problems we have and patrons don't touch
them, you may be able to do without print indexing.
Some librarians keep the print ones because databases
may come and go; but, print lasts forever, almost.
======================
#3
From: Marvin C. Guilfoyle <mg29_at_evansville.edu>
At least in our small academic library, the Reader's
Guide no longer has a real function. We probably
should have cancelled it several years ago.
Marvin Guilfoyle
Acquisitions & Collection Development Librarian
University of Evansville Library
1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
Voice: (812) 479-2247 Fax: (812) 471-6996
Received on Mon Jul 31 2000 - 12:47:10 EDT